As we approach the end of the quarter, it’s time to re-focus in order to get your objectives completed.

When deadlines loom and we push toward the finish, the temptation is to simply work harder and put in more hours.

While that may be necessary at times, here are 4 tips to help you as the pressure increases:

1) Focus – Make sure your top priorities are clear - in your head and in your project management software. (e.g. Deltek Vision, Ajera, Liquid Planner or some other software.) Eliminate what does not need to be done, automate what you can, delegate what you don't need to do, defer it if it is not needed now. Or, just do it with joy.

2) Keep extra margin – This is especially important as a leader, because your team members will often need your help blowing through obstacles. Clear extra time margin on your calendar to help the team reach the finish line. Consider how you can set the tone by helping them remove nonessential commitments and only ask staff to focus on what’s most essential.

3) Renegotiate commitments – in order to defer something, you may need to renegotiate commitments. This is a perfectly viable option. Contractual commitments, of course, need to come first. But there are times when client commitments may not take priority. But, it's not okay to just blow through commitments without renegotiating them. Missing commitments is a fast way to erode trust. Let your “yes." be “yes!" and your “no." be “no!"

4) 1/10th your investment to create momentum – I’m a big fan of multiplier thinking. 10X your goals, 100X your results. Instead of 10 X thinking, use 1/10th thinking. What? Okay, think about it for a minute. 1/10th thinking can result in a 10x return on your time. At times, it is better to stop, and focus on only what is necessary to get the critical result. If you spent 1/10th the time to get a critical result, you’ve just 10x’d your investment. For example, let’s say the task in front of you is estimated to take 10 hours. Can, 80% can be done in 1 hour? Sometimes, even 80% is not needed and you can do what is good enough in 10 minutes. Just make sure it meets the minimum quality standards of your organization and the promise you make to your team members and customers. What’s the task ahead of you really worth? 10 hours or 1 hour or 10 minutes?

All right, so that wraps it up. 4 Tips to Finishing your Quarterly Goals.